b"FOR HOME-GROWN BIOMETHANE PRODUCTION TO 35 BILLION CUBIC METRES (BCM) PER YEAR BY 2030? IS THIS REALISTICALLY ACHIEVABLE?ASA:The ambition is high, but the target is feasible: Europe is producing today 15 bcm of raw biogas and 3 bcm of biometh-ane (upgraded biogas) from approximately 20,000 biogas and biomethane plants. By 2030, the proposed expansion will replace 20 per cent of the current fossil gas imports from Russia. Biomethane can be directly injected into the gas grid with no need for large infrastructure investments. It is also a good complement of wind and solar energy, as it can be easily stored and produced at a constant pace, helping bal-ance energy supply from variable renewa-ble energy sources.Biomethane deployment is also eco-nomically viable. Earlier this year, naturalBiogas and biomethane support the development of a circular bioeconomy.gas prices went over 200 and are today around 85. While this happens, biome-thane production costs are getting lower. Typical biomethane production costs in Europe range between 55 and 100 /MWh, depending on location, feedstock,NEW CROP VARIETIES TAILORING TO size, and setup of the plant. Anchoring the 35 bcm in legislationSEQUENTIAL CROPPING AND BETTER USE and making sure that there are solid tra-jectories and milestones, is necessary toOF MARGINAL LANDS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO reach the target. If we look at the market,INCREASE EUROPES BIOMETHANE POTENTIAL.the sector needs easy market access, cut-ting away red tape and eliminating per-sisting internal market barriers. For this, we need also dedicated and innovative finance instruments to mitigate risks and have the needed capital to roll out biome- ginal lands as feedstock for biomethanecurrent bottlenecks and propose solutions thane at scale. The sector will need to tapproduction. Those are lands where thefor a sustainable scale-up. The sector will into sustainable feedstocks such as waste,agronomic conditions are not suitableneed guidance, including relevant legisla-urban wastewater and sustainable crops. for food & feed production, might stilltive and financial support in the coming be good to grow non-food crops. Also,years. To meet the 2030 target, the EBA ES: HOW CAN THE PLANTbiomass from contaminated lands isforesees the need for additional capital BREEDING AND SEED SECTORunfit for food or feed production andinvestments. Europe will need 48 bn to HELP IN ACHIEVING THAT GOAL?can be used to produce biomethane.build 4,000 medium-size units and 35 ASA:The REPowerEU launched by thePhytoremediation technologies are beingbn to build 1,000 large-scale plants in 8 European Commission mentions that theused and further developed for growingyears. It is a realistic objective: Germany biomethane potential can be increasedcrops on those lands. The crops willalone built 6,000 plants in 9 years. through extra production of sustaina- absorb the contaminants from the soilsExpanding biomethane production bly produced biomass. This can be, forand purify the soil.is possible using sustainable feedstocks, instance, biomass from sequential crop- New crop varieties tailoring thoseincluding waste, agricultural residues ping. This agricultural practice involvesapplications will contribute to increaseand sequential crops. By 2030, the EBA two different crops growing in sequenceEurope's biomethane potential. foresees increased feedstock supply for on a same piece of land in a same farm- biomethane production from food waste, ing year. Usually, a second crop is plantedES: DOES THE EU HAVE ENOUGHindustrial and urban wastewater and after a preceding main crop has beenBIOGAS FACILITIES, AND IF NOT,agricultural residues. harvested, without competition of landHOW MANY MORE DO WE NEED? TheEBAhassummarisedthe for food and feed, enabling the availableASA:Theimplementationoftherequired actions to reach the target in the natural resources to be preserved andREPowerEU will require a smart combi- short, medium and long-term in a recent more efficiently utilized. These cropsnation of investments and reforms start- publication: https://www.europeanbiogas.increase soil health, soil quality & biodi- ing from this year. The full value chaineu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Short-versity and do not need to be fully grownof biomethane producers, and users, willmid-and-long-term-strategies-to-speed-before being harvested. need to cooperate with public authoritiesup-biomethane-deployment-in-Europe.We can also use biomass from mar- and civil society organisations to identifypdf16IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM"